Minoritarian Francophonie – The Case of Israel, with Special Reference to the Palestinian Territories

Abstract

This article examines the minoritarian status of a nonethnic group identity: Israeli Francophonie. Nonethnic minority status is particularly interesting for it represents a nonascriptive and voluntary category of group identity. In the case of Israel, Francophonie has evolved from its mainly North African (and hence socially disparaged) associations in the 1950s and 1960s to becoming an immigrant Ashkenazi and “frenchified Sephardic” phenomenon today. Francophone intellectuals promote Israeli Francophonie as an adjunct to Zionism, for it represents a cultural alternative to the Americanization of Israeli society. Common French language also diffuses the cleavages (religious versus secular versus nationalistic) which otherwise challenge the unity of the Jewish state. Associational, educational, cultural and religious institutions reflect the diffuse, dispersed and discrete nature of Israeli Francophonie; while there are categories of Francophonie, there is no francophone community per se. The future of Francophonie in Israel is a function of media technology, pluralistic self-redefinition, and political relations with France. Regarding the latter, the originally religiously-based Palestinian Francophonie based on the Latin Patriarchate is being supplemented by diplomatic efforts to extend French cultural influence among Arabs both in Israel and in the occupied territories.